"Con Artist," the first short flick of the night came next only to grind to a halting pause and it appeared to disintegrate on the screen. Uh-oh. Sad start. 'Nuff said.

Now I'm no film critic. I mean I know what I like and and what I don't, and I have to just be honest and say that I didn't much care for the first two films. When the "technical difficulties" were dealt with and "Con Artist" finally rolled, it came across as what it was — student Nate Larkin-Connolly's senior thesis project at film school. Let's just say that Nate isn't Spike Lee and "Con Artist" wasn't "She's Gotta Have It." The premise was funny enough. Struggling artist falls for girl. Artist paints girl. Artist gets exhibit. No one shows, not even girl. Artist's friend shows up drunk, three hours late. Artist and friend get more drunk and hatch plan to make Artist famous by killing him. I don't want to be too harsh, but the film just didn't work for me. There were, however, some funny moments of silly stupidness that garnered some genuine laughs from the audience.

The next film, "Coffee Break," directed by Jessica Leigh Fitts, was a step up in quality, sense of direction, movement and detail. The plot line follows an ordinary Joe (Brian Eibert) who wakes up to find he's out of coffee and follows his many mishaps as he tries fruitlessly to catch his buzz. Eibert has some definite camera appeal, but for me the gag ran too long and became predictable. Kudos to Fitts, who gets an "A' for effort. I do hope we'll see something from her here again next year.

"Alyosha The Pot," an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's short story, was absolutely spectacular. It's a shame there won't be a second screening of this important, poignant little gem of a film this year as there will be for some others. Shot entirely with a cast of children in Canterbury Shaker Village, the cinematography was truly top-notch. The children were selected to play adult roles in an effort to "remove any sense of irony from the film," director Bethany Tarbell said in a Q&A after the screening. I have to admit that I don't know what that means. Nor quite frankly, do I care. What I care about was the sense of raw urgency that was captured on film. Just beautiful! Bravo, and encore, please. I wish you all could see it. Hell, I wish I could see it again.

After a brief intermission, part two of the night began with "Check Out," a hilarious comedy about a ninja who works at a convenience store and spoils a hold-up by samurais. Mind you, this is all based in Manchester. Truly wonderful all around — everything — writing, acting, direction, editing and cinematography. I'm laughing now as I type this just thinking about it because it was just that good. I wish I could tell you this one is being shown again, but I can't.

Disclaimer time.

Lars Trodson, the writer behind the next film, "Bootful of Fish," and I go way back. He and I use to sit together in the back of Kittery Town Hall as cub reporters for competing newspapers and crack wise during Town Council and School Committee meetings back in the early 1990s. He's a dear friend and I love him, but truth be told this is one dam fine film. Honest, if it wasn't really good, I'd probably try and be truthful but find some way to gloss over its inequities, but that's not needed here. Talk to anyone who was there last night and they'll back me up.

Here's the deal, I kept trying to think of one word to describe this film as I was watching it and the word that kept coming back to me was "Magic." That's what they've got here, magic. Deb Cram and I caught up with Lars before the screening, and I hope she included what he had to say in her video report that you can view elsewhere on Seacoastconnects.com because what he said is right to the point. When I asked him what this crazy-ass little film of theirs was really all about he said it was about "family," and about our search for "families other than our own" (or something to that effect). It's a film based on the players in a play — who they are and how they come together. The lead actors really carry their lines well. James Sears, who plays the lead role of the play's director, "Lorenzo," is superb. We better see this guy again, and soon.

Longtime Seacoast actors Chris Curtis and Kristen Raymond Robinson, who we are use to seeing up close and personal on the intimate stage at The Player's Ring, look right at home on the big screen. This is a truly touching film (that is also laugh out loud funny) and should be seen by anyone who loves film, or the Seacoast acting scene, when it screens again on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the Sheraton.

At the end of its long list of closing credits, which includes the names of all the extras, as well as anyone who supported the film that was shot on location at the Rochester Opera House, is a fitting end note that reads: "Support Your Local Artists." Right on, bother, right on.

Another admission.

"The Norman Rockwell Code," Dover attorney Alfred Thomas Catalfo's spoof on Rye Beach author Dan Brown's mega-sensation "Da Vinci Code" franchise, was so much funnier, and so much better than I ever expected it to be, that I also want to urge everyone who loves a good comedy to check this puppy out when it airs again on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the Sheraton. This homage borders on genius. Instead of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon we get Stockbridge Community College Professor Langdon Fife, son of Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife from Mayberry R.F.D. It wasn't just me that found this film hilarious, a good portion of the 300-400 audience was laughing wildly right along with me.

"The Toll" is an animated short directed by J. Zachary Pike and produced by Marc Dole and Hatchling Studios of Portsmouth. It is, in a word, brilliant. Following in the footsteps of such films as "This Is Spinal Tap," and "CB4" this is, perhaps, the first animated "mockumentary" of its kind. The creators have released a labor of love that was produced over thousands and thousands of hours of painstakingly detailed work. It is funny, highly unique, and a serious gas. Check it out when it is screened for the second time on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Sheraton.

If you've made it all this way in the hopes that I'd have something interesting to say about "Inside the Sensation of Sight," then I'll be letting you down. After spending four hours in a theater with only one beer break, I just had to step outside and get some air. The documentary of the making of the film starring Academy Award-winning actor David Strathairn, which was filmed on location in Peterborough, did make the film itself look like a must-see.

Which gives me a nice segue on which to end this post, and that is that I really do hope some of the other folks who were in the audience last night, and those that will be in other audiences over the next three days, will start posting their own takes on what they're seeing. This blog will only be as good as you all help make it. Sixty-seven films over four days is more than one guy can handle.

See you around town,
Michael

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